Red Lights on new horizons
by Selphy.Westmile
Summary: After School Tea Time has just been signed. Join the band as they go from being local entertainers to international figures, with all the stops in between. Romance, Adventure, Angst, Hurt, Humor, & Genral life are all in the works! R'nR! Rating upped!
1. Offers all around

Mio just sat there in shock. Words couldn't describe what her thoughts were, and she later had commented that her mind was filled with "fuzzy, white nothing".

"_Miss Akiyama? Are you still there?"_

The voice barely registered with the raven-haired woman at the table, but at least Mio had enough wits about her to answer, although it did sound quite dazed.

"Oh? Oh! Y... yes, I'm still here..."

"_As I was saying, Mr. Kurusugawa was very impressed with both your press package, and the performance that he witnessed. Therefore, on behalf of Ariola Japan, we would like to offer After School Tea Time a 2 record Rotation, with support for touring and merchandising."_

"WHAT?" Mio sat speechless as the woman on the other end of the phone line explained what all this meant

"_... now, another I will need is the contact information for your manager."_

"M... m... manager? What if we don't h... have one at the m... moment?" Mio asked. She had a horrible feeling that this offer was dead in the water before it even set sail. Also, Mio wondered if she and Ritsu had gotten ahead of themselves by sending out all those press packages so early on in their "career".

"_Well, I'm assuming that you're just asking that to know, but essentially, you would be assigned a manager on the interim by us, and you, as a band, would pay for him or her from the band coffer. Now, this may seem like an ideal situation, but our in-house managers are very picky, and if none would be willing to work with you, we would give you 1 week to hire a 3rd party manager, and following such time, we would terminate the offer. Now, you can re-submit your press package one year from the date of termination, but as you well know, the music industry changes so fast that you may never get an offer from any company again. But, I can tell that your manager is very competent, mainly because the press package that we received was one of the best I've seen."_

Mio sat and listened in shock. If After School Tea Time couldn't find a manager... well, they might be out of luck. This was almost too much at once. First, a record offer, then the harsh reality of it: No manager, no deal.

"No, just... curious is all. Is there anyway I can get a number to call you right back? I've got... something to take care of now." Well done, Mio thought to herself, way to lie to her.

_"Certainly, I'm sure you want to discuss this with the rest of your team. Get your manager to call me at 003 1351 1154, and we can schedule a meeting for contract intent and to decide course of operation and fine details of the offer. When you call, dial extension 2211, then ask for Mayumi Ikaruga. Thank you for your time, Miss Akiyama"_

Mio wrote all the information down, thanked the woman again, and hung up. Then the excitement of what happened hit. HARD.

"OH MY GOD!" Mio yelled. Then, with more enthusiasm than was normal for the tall, beautiful bassist, she ran around her apartment like a young girl on the morning of her birthday. Needless to say, the outburst, and the ruckus of her running around woke the other occupant of the small apartment.

"MIO! Have you lost your mind? Anyways, what has you so worked up at... ten after nine in the morning?" Ritsu was not to happy about being woken up on one of the few days she had to sleep in, but it was fairly obvious that something very good happened... but whatever it was, it had better be good enough to warrant making enough noise to wake the dead.

"RITSU!" was all Mio could get out before she hug-tackled Ritsu, knocking the brunette back, onto the floor of her room.

"OUFF! What the hell is wrong with you? That hurt..." Ritsu started, but was cut off.

"WE GOT SIGNED, RITSU! A REAL CONTRACT! 2 ALBUMS!"

"... WHAT?"

* * *

Both Ritsu and Mio sat at the table. Ritsu let Mio do all the talking; Mio had taken the phone call anyways, best let her explain it to the others.

"... so if anyone has any ideas about a manager, please, tell us. It's incredibly important."

Ritsu looked around the table, judging everyone's mood.

Yui, as to be expected, was vibrating with excitement. It's not everyday you get the chance to become a rock star, and she had worked incredibly hard the last 3 years to make herself a better musician. She had learned how to read music and had taken basic guitar repair and maintenance lessons at the local music store. She had even matured a bit. She was no longer the lazy girl Ritsu had met 6 years ago in High School, but a serious musician with a penchant for eating sweets and occasionally being a little... dazed. Those where not the only changes with the brown-haired guitarist. She had grown to be a very beautiful woman; not quite a model, but very close. This was evident by the number of men who had, unsuccessfully, asked her out on dates. Music was life's number one priority to Yui, and as such, it has a happy and fun one.

Mugi was... Mugi. Except her smile was much... brighter today. Mugi had changed very little in the years since High School graduation, having enrolled in the music program at the same university that Mio, Ritsu and Yui attend. Mugi was the first one called to the apartment, because she was the most level headed of the band, and her reaction was almost hilarious, consisting of "Oh my... This is great news! How wonderful!", followed by an almost dangerous dreamy look coming over her that lasted for about five minutes. Then, in true Mugi fashion, she had gone to the kitchen and proceeded to make tea.

Azusa was, as far as Ritsu could tell, still in shock. Unlike the rest of the band, Azusa had graduated High School with applying to any universities. Instead, she had joined the instructional staff the local music store as a guitar teacher for children. And how the kids loved her. At the end of her first year as instructor, the children were able to play very well, and it showed at the end-of-year concert, in which the students all played a few songs in front of their parents. Azusa had asked permission for After School Tea Time to play at the end of the concert, and the performance went over so well that the store had to increase the instructional staff to accommodate all the new students that had enrolled. Azusa had also taken a more active role in the band in the last year, bring two new songs to the band, and she, as well as Mugi, had started singing as well. _Though_, Ritsu thought, _physically... well, I thought Mio was pretty_Azusa had grown taller in the last 4 years. This along with certain... assets becoming more predominate, made Azusa look like a slightly younger Mio... if Mio cut her hair to the same length as Ritsu...

"I know!" Ritsu snapped back to reality, and looked at Yui "Call Nodoka-chan! She's in management in the university, y'know! I'm sure she'd say yes."

_Of course, _Ritsu thought, _why didn't we think of her before. Not only is she friends with Mio and Yui, but is definitely smart enough to do it._

* * *

_"... and that's why we're asking you, Nodoka. You're the only one who can help us."_

Nodoka Manabe sat back on her couch. This... well... a very tempting offer. The chance to be the manager of a rock band... the concept was mind-boggling! The things she'd see, the places she'd visit... but at the cost of her degree. Also, the thought that she could end up unemployed and uneducated in the event that the band couldn't cut it... it was a hard decision to make.

"Why me, Mio? Why not Ui or Sawaka-Sensei?" Even to her, that sounded like a stupid question.

_"Well, you're responsible, unlike Sawaka-Sensei, and I am sure you understand why Ui isn't a logical choice, being Yui's sister and all... besides, think of this as a learning experience you'll never get in a classroom. Besides, you've helped us a lot in the last 6 years... please, help us again."_

"Alright, alright. I'll do it." Nodoka couldn't see it, but she was sure that if she could, Mio would be putting on that incredibly cute pleading look she had used against her so many times in the past. And what member of Mio's fan club could turn THAT look down?

_"REALLY! Hey, she said yes, everyone!"_Nodoka had to immediately pull the phone away from her ear, for the noise on the other side of the phone... well, it was REALLY loud.

After a few minutes, Mio came back on the phone. _"Well, Nodoka, thank you some much. I don't know how to thank you..."_

"Don't worry, Mio. We ARE friends, you know... we'll figure it out."

_"Well, I'll email you all the info for the band and the label. If you need anymore information, just email or call me and I'll send it to you. I've gotta go now, so call me once you've arranged the meeting with the label. See you!"_

Nodoka stood up and looked down at her phone.

"Well," she said to her empty living room, "It can't be that hard, managing a band."


	2. Forms, Terms and Cakes

**Well, I suppose I should pop in here now. Just a quick thanks to Yaaga and Elias Pedro for the reviews so soon after the story was published. Reviews give me encouragement to continue, Thanks, and hope to see more.**

**If you have any suggestions for how the story should go, just tell me!**

**

* * *

**

Mio felt restless, kind of like a child the night before a family trip, or a student awaiting the results of an exam. She didn't dare to open her mouth; part of the feeling was a certain amount of nausea, and Mio couldn't trust herself at that moment.

It had been a week since the phone call from Mayumi from Ariola Japan, and four days since Nodoka had informed the band that the meeting was arranged. Now, Mio, Nodoka and the rest of After School Tea Time where on their way, via train, to meet with both Mayumi (she had insisted that they refer to her as Mayumi, not Mrs. Ikaruga) and Mr. Kurusugawa.

Needless to say, everyone was nervous.

Mio looked around at the rest of the band, trying to judge the mood.

Mugi and Ritsu sat, immersed in deep conversation. Mio caught the occasional bits and pieces of their conversation "...Hummingbird. Ritsu, you should..." "..n't know, I know Yui doesn't quite..." "...Quite true, never thought...". Mio guessed that they where speaking about the set list for their next performance. She left drawing up set lists to Ristu; for some reason, concerts seem to go smoother when Ritsu comes up with the set list. Both looked quite excited... _no_, Mio thought, _Apprehensive._

Yui was seated a bit away from the rest of the band, and seemed very calm... well, seemed, as Mio knew that she was quite nervous. She had her laptop open and seemed very immersed in what she was doing. Mio was a bit curious about what the brown-haired woman was up to, and learned she was writing song lyrics. _I'm very happy with how much Yui has grown up, _Mio mused,_ now If we could build a gun out of the process and shoot Ritsu a few times with it..._

"Mio?" Azusa was seated next to Mio, and had leaned in to ask her something.

"Yes, Asuza?"

"Well... I was wondering... are we ready for this? I mean, is the band good enough?" Mio smiled. She herself had these thoughts too... until Ritsu had sat her down to explain that, yes, they where good enough, otherwise they wouldn't have been offered a deal in the first place.

"Obviously, Azusa. These people are professionals, they know who's good and who's not." Azusa just sat back. She didn't look overly convinced, her face still a study of uncertainty.

* * *

"Can we have a few minutes to discuss this, as a band?"

"Certainly." Both Mr. Kurusugawa and Mayumi stood, and made for the exit of the meeting room. Mayumi lagged behind for a few seconds to say, "When you've reached a consensus, just pick up that phone and dial the Front Desk. They'll notify us, and we'll resume from there, OK?" Then, without any further delay, she closed the door.

Everyone turned to look at Nodoka.

There was a small pause, then all aural hell broke loose.

"What does 'Recoupable Advance' mean?"

"How does 'joint contract' effect the band?"

"Ugh... I want some tea... this is hard on the head."

Nodoka already felt overwhelmed. The meeting had already lasted 2 hours, and in that time, she had come to realize that there was WAY more work to managing a band than she originally thought.

"OK, OK. One at a time. Mio, you first." _Might as well do this in an organized was, otherwise we'll be here for hours, knowing some of these people._

"Um... did ANY of that make sense to you, first off?"

"Yes," Nodoka smiled as she answered. The only saving grace was that it was all business terminology.

"Really?"

"Mio, please. I DID study business and law."

"Good point. OK, what does receiving a 4 million Yen 'Recoupable Loan' mean, exactly?" This was a staggering amount of money to everyone in the room, including Nodoka, and therefor, it was the most difficult question.

"From what I've learned, the concept of the Recoupable Loan is that the company, meaning the Label, loans us 4 million Yen to record," Nodoka explained, reading the contract terms, "as well as help us build a touring back-line. I'm going to assume that means extra instruments, a sound system and the such. As well, this will cover per deims, which are expected expenditures, such as instrument upkeep, transportation and a percentage of your rent. But, we have to pay that loan back. We do this through sales."

Mio just stared, slack-jawed, at her friend.

"So, basically," Yui asked tentatively, "the more... CDs we sell, the faster we repay the loan. Sounds easy"

Nodoka looked over to Yui and raised her eyebrows.

"You do realize that you get little to no money from your album sales UNTIL it gets payed back, right? And... let me do the math... you'll need to sell about...1 000 000 CDs to pay this back."

"Oh. Ha ha ha, maybe it's not so easy after all."

"But, fortunately, from what I read in the last week, " Nodoka explained, "is that any money you make on a tour or at performances, once the staging and sound staff are payed, is the bands. The label doesn't touch it. So touring is the best way money as a band, at least in the first while, anyways. Was that a good enough explanation, Mio?"

"Y... Yes."

"Azusa, you also had a question... go?"

"Joint contract? What is that?"

"I don't know. I'll ask that when they return. Anyone else?"

Silence. Nodoka looked at everyone in turn, noticing that the common expression was a mix of nervousness and excitement.

"Well, to recap the contract, we are being offered a 4 million Yen, 2 Album contract with support for Touring and Merchandising. Touring is a given, merchandising meaning a design for T-shirts, hats and posters. As well, we're being assigned a producer, Eriko Manaka, for the 2 albums. She'll also be helping you 5 with pre-production. They have also giving me a list of touring companies which will hire out live sound and staging technicians, as well as equipment sales and rentals."

Nodoka put the papers down, took a deep breath, and continued. "Now, if you have any doubts or concerns, I mean ANY doubts or concerns, I'd suggest we write up a quick list to be addressed with the two. I personally, much like Asuza, would like a bit of clarification as to what a joint contract is. Anything at all?"

* * *

"So? What have you decided?" Mr. Kurusugawa sat and looked around the table. This wasn't the first time he'd signed a new band, and he was sure it wouldn't be the last. But something about this band... interested him more than any other had.

"Well," Nodoka looked up at him, and leaned forwards, " we just have a few questions to ask before we make a full decision."

_Well,_ Mr. Kurusugawa thought, _young Miss Manabe is definitely fit to manage; her business sense and attention to detail is superb._

"What, exactly, is a 'joint contract'?"

Mr. Kurusugawa thought a few minutes before answering "Well, I'll be very honest with you. It's not fully known as a 'Joint Contract', it means you are signing the contract _Joint and Severally_. Basically, it means that instead of signing the contract as a band, you are signing the contract as _Individuals,_ meaning that if the band ever dissolves, you are still obligated to finish out the terms of the contract: 2 albums. As well, we can also control ANY solo recordings or subsequent recordings with a NEW band. I will tell you, it is VERY hard to break a contract early, usually only under special circumstances, such as death or severe disability. Any questions?"

Nodoka looked at the band, paused, then asked, "Are you all OK with that?"

Yui spoke before anyone else.

"Of course we are! We've been together since high school, we're best friends. Nothing will ever happen to us!"

The rest of the band looked at Yui and nodded. They were, after all, best friends, and had been playing music together for a long time. "She's right," Mio added, "we've come this far as a group, and we'll keep going."

Nodoka just smiled. The bonds of friendship ran deep, and she fully believed that they'd be together forever.

"OK, then one last thing before we decide..." Nodoka began, but Ritsu cut her off.

"How does this loan work? We pay it back with CD sales, and keep the money we make off touring and merchandise sales, Right?"

Mr. Kurusugawa laughed. This band was indeed interesting. "Basically, yes. Note that you'll still receive SOME money from the Album sales, as you are, I assume, the songwriters, but... yes. You pay it back with sales. Luckily, your assigned producer works on points, so you don't pay her a base rate for the studio work."

"Points?" Yui asked. All that ran through her head was some lady standing at a machine much like an ATM, feeding punch cards into a slot and receiving money out of another.

"Points... basically, she'll be making 2-3% of the album sales as her payment, so roughly... 26 yen a CD. Doesn't sound like much, but if you sell, say, 50 000 CDs, that's a fair amount. 1 486 000 yen, if you're curious. You'll be making the same amount, well, you will after the loan is payed off. So, if your first album sells really well, you'll be well off for the second one."

"Well, " Mugi stated slowly, "I'm ready to sign."

"Me as well." Everyone looked at Mio. She was, they noticed, vibrating with excitement.

"OK! So am I" Yui practically yelled.

"Sign me up, this sounds awesome!" Ritsu sat forwards too fast, and fell off the front of her chair, which shot backwards across the room into the wall. Everyone broke down laughing at her, even Mr. Kurusugawa and Mayumi.

Still giggling, Asuza looked around. Everyone else looked back expectantly.

"... I'm also ready."

Mr. Kurusugawa smiled, turned to Mayumi, who handed a contract form to each band member.

"Just fill these out, then. Miss Manabe, you fill out THIS form. It's a bit different from theirs; this is a Manager Contract. Note that it's slightly different; that's because you are our main contact. Therefor, you have slightly different duties. You're the middleman between us, the label, and the band. Same rules apply and all. As well, now would be the time to fill THIS out." He handed Nodoka another form. "This is a PRO form. That stands for Performing Rights Organization. You'll need to join a PRO in order to receive publishing rights, loyalties, radio play, etc. etc. Just fill this out, and Miss. Ikaruga will take care of the rest. As in to say, she'll check it over, then advise you what to do from there. As well, we'll contact you with information on how to go about drawing up a managerial contract for the band, as I'm sure you'll want to be paid fairly for this."

_Wow, I have a LOT of work to do,_ Nodoka mused as she filled out the forms in front of her,_ at least they'll help me._

It took everyone roughly 15 minutes to fill out their contracts, and took Nodoka about 10 minutes more to fill out the PRO application form. Everyone in the band handed their contracts to Nodoka, who then in turn passed them to Mr. Kurusugawa.

"Very good then," he said once he once-overed the forms, "and now I would like to say congratulations to After School Tea Time on being the newest artist on the Ariola Record Label. You definitely earned it, ladies. Now go home, and get some rest. Talk to your families and friends, well, the one who aren't here at any rate. Starting next week, you will be very busy. Good luck in your future endeavors." With that, he stood up and personally shook each members hand.

"Miss Manabe, please ask Ms. Sachicho at the desk to give you Package 5. That should help you out in the coming days. Also, we'll be sending copies of these contracts to you in about 2 days, so keep them secure once you get them. See you later."

* * *

As the band waited for the train, they were silent. The impact of what had happened finally set in, and now they were Rock Stars. Not quite, actually, but close enough. Mugi broke the silence first.

"You know... I think some tea and cake is in order, wouldn't you agree, Mio?"

Everyone looked to Mio; well, everyone but Nodoka, who was glancing through the contents of the envelope she received at the front desk of the Label.

Mio smiled and looked around "Mugi... yes. Tea and cakes sound wonderful. Let's have a party while we're at it. We have some celebrating to do."

* * *

**Well, that may be a bit overwhelming for most, but it will be described in better detail as the story progresses. In case you're wondering, none of this is made up; I do work in the music industry. Now, I'm no producer or anything (I'm a button and knob Mixing engineer), so the terminology might get... heavy. I'll try to keep it to a minimum, but sometimes, stuff happens.**

**Anyways, thanks again for reading, please R&R. I'll take praise, criticism even suggestions.**


	3. Fallout: Tea Time

_I'll miss this apartment, _Ritsu thought to herself, _so many things happened here, so many memories._

"Ritsu! Where are you?" Came Mio's voice from inside the apartment, "I've got some coffee here!"

Ritsu turned around and looked at the door that separated the apartment's living room from the balcony. Looking into the apartment, she could see empty bottles and food wrappers spread all over the living room. It was indeed one hell of a party last night.

"Yeah, yeah," Ritsu called back, "gimme a second to get some fresh air."

Yawning, Ritsu made her way back into the apartment. Looking over to her right, she sawUi Hirasawa sitting on the couch, with a glass of water in her hand. She looked terrible. Her eyes were bloodshot, her hair was messy and she looked VERY upset. More upset than a hangover would cause. _Well, it's let's get this over with, _Ritsu thought, trying to keep herself out of the impending breakdown,_ they'll have to sort it out themselves._

Walking further into the apartment, she passed Mio in the hall, who handed her a cup of coffee, and kept moving towards her room.

"Oi! Satoshi, you alive in there?"

"... I suppose... why?" Came the answer through the door.

_Well, here goes the Big-Sister talk-to time..._

"We need to talk, that's why. I'm coming in." Ritsu pushed the door open, and walked into her room. Inside sat Satoshi Tainaka, Ritsu's younger brother. He, much like Ui looked hungover, tired and upset. He was sitting at the desk, head in his hands, trying to massage away a massive headache. Satoshi turned and looked at his older sister, a feeling of half shame, half nausea rising up in his stomach.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself, Satoshi? Can you understand why Ui's so upset?" Ritsu asked him, sounding more like his mother than his sister.

"I can understand, but I don't know why everyone thinks it's MY fault only. Am I the only person involved who..." Satoshi started, but Ritsu cut him off.

"SATOSHI! Think about it!" Ritsu realized that she was way too tired to deal with this, not after her morning... waking up on the couch, walking into her room to find... Satoshi and Ui in HER bed, wearing NO clothing, and her room REEKING of drunken sex... although, Ritsu thought in a moment of sleep-deprived insanity, they do make a cute couple...

"... What am I supposed to do? We were both drunk, not thinking, and acted on our feelings... is that wrong?" Her brother spat back at her.

"No..." Ritsu sagged were she sat, took a deep breath, let it out, and continued. "It's not WHAT you did, it's what you DIDN'T do that upset her. We all know you like her; we all know she likes you... that's fine. We had a big party last night, alcohol was involved, though in your cases, too much... even that's... acceptable. Satoshi, what has dad always, ALWAYS told you? WEAR A CONDOM. That's why she's upset, moron. You might have gotten her pregnant. If not, you're lucky. If you did, you had better take responsibility. But for now, don't be a big baby, and go out there and TALK to her. Yui already talked to her; she's calmed down a lot now. Yui's not mad at you, nor am I.", Ritsu took a breath, and continued," Although, you are lucky Mom and Dad live nowhere near here; you'd be dead already; that's why I'd doing this."

Ritsu paused, then "Now, go talk to her. Be a man. Besides, I need my room back, I wanna take a shower and change."

* * *

When Ritsu walked out into the living room 20 minutes later, Satoshi and Ui were nowhere to be seen. Instead, Mio sat on the couch with her head back and eyes closed, trying to catch some sleep to make up for the previous night, whereas Yui and Mugi were in the kitchen, sitting at the table eating what appeared to be lemon cake. _Yep, it's practically normal_.

"Mio, where's Satoshi and Ui?" Ritsu ashed Mio, she opened one eye, stared at Ritsu for a few seconds, then pointed at the balcony door. " Thanks." Mio just flashed a goofy grin, and closed her eye. Ritsu walked across the living room, and looked out the balcony. There stood Satoshi, with his arms wrapped around Ui, both of them looking out over the city, talking quietly about something. _Good boy, now I won't have to beat your ass _Ritsu thought to herself, walking into the kitchen.

" Hey, Whacha eatin'?" Ritsu now realized how hungry she was, and the cake looked damn tasty. Ritsu sat down, and Mugi slid a slice of cake over to her, as well as handed her a cup of tea.

"Well... it's lemon cake with glazed icing... it's very delicious," Mugi stated, "and the tea is plain green tea." Ritsu took a forkful of cake and, once again, almost fainted at how _heavenly_ the cake was.

"Oh yeah, Ritsu," Mio called from the living room, "Nodoka called; we have our first practice with Eriko Manaka on Monday afternoon. And Azusa called, she apologized for having to leave so soon last night, but had to work this morning."

_Interesting. Nodoka is really moving on this. _Ritsu looked at her cake, and took another mouthful._ We've been officially signed for about 24 hours and we're already meeting our producer in 2 days._

"Hey, Ricchan, you weren't to hard on Sa-kun, were you?" Yui looked over at the young drummer, took a sip of her tea and waited for an answer. Mio, upon hearing this, got up and walked into the kitchen.

"No, I just basically told him to man up and take responsibility. Are you mad at Ui at all?" Yui just shook her head, saying "No, she's old enough now to make her own decisions. Besides, they look really cute together!"

_That they do,_ Ritsu thought, taking a sip of her tea, _that they do._

* * *

It was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and Ritsu was sitting on her couch watching the news. Satoshi and Ui had left some time ago, looking like the new couple they were. It would be a few weeks before Ui showed any signs of pregnancy, but the couple was already planning for a new apartment together. Yui and Mio had also left, both saying they wanted to go home and sleep. but Ritsu knew Yui would go home and practice and Mugi would go shopping.

Just at that moment, the phone started ringing. _Dammit, _Ritsu mused, _can't get a moment's peace._ Abruptly, the phone stopped ringing. Mio had picked it up in her room.

"Ritsu!" Mio called out to her, "Have you seen today's paper from home?"

"No, and what kinda stupid question is that?"

"Well, apparently there's an article about us being signed. The whole town's in an uproar. Mugi's on the phone now, she just got called by almost all of our graduating class."

Ritsu just sat back on the couch. _No point in worring about it now... I have a show to prepare for._

* * *

"Onee-chan, sit still. It's hard to put your hair up if you're fidgeting."

Ui looket in the dressing room mirror and met her Yui's eyes. She had always liked doing both her sister's and Mio's hair before their concerts, but today's seemed more important. Perhaps it was the fact that they where now signed to a label, and would soon be famous, or it was Nodoka dropping by to tell them that both Mr. Kurusugawa and Mayumi would be in the audiance, or that there were a couple of other bands on the label there to support thier newest act, or that Mr. Kurusugawa was making this show into the public release of the signing. Whatever the reason, the mood was slightly more on edge than normal.

"Hey, Ui, are you happy now?" The question asked by Mio caught her off guard. "You know, you and Satoshi being together. Is it what you expected?"

Ui took a few seconds to anwer. "Yes. I'm really happy, except I'm also scared. I'm too young to be a mother, although it may not happen... I really like, no, love Satoshi... he's very polite, kind, and really funny..." Ui trailed off, staring at the back of her sister's head.

"HEY! Everyone come here for a second. Everyone being the members of Tea Time." Nodoka had just come back into the dressing room, with 2 people in tow.

"Hey, Nodoka, who are they?" Azusa asked, nodding towards the 2 people behind her.

"Funny you should ask, Azusa. May I introduce Eriko Manaka, your producer," a woman of average hight and build smiled and waved at the band "and Wes Aihara, your instrument technician" a tall, blond, half-Japanese, half-Caucasian man nodded slowly in acnowledgement. "They'll be watching the show tonight to start getting thier information ready for your first formal meeting on Monday. Don't be suprised if they come to talk to you after the show."

Yui opened her mouth to speak, but a speaker overhead clicked to life.

_"Notice, After School Tea Time to stage wings, please. After School Tea Time to stage wings."_

Mio looked around at her band, took a deap breath, and said "Let's do this, girls."

* * *

**Wow, long time since an update, I know. This chapter is kinda fail, but it was almost all written before my hiatus. I lost my notes on it, and had to make up the last bit off the top of my head. **

**My heart and soul go out to the Sendai reigon of Japan. The images coming from the Miyagi prefecture are hard to see, knowing that some many lost so much.**

**God bless you, Japan. God Bless.**

**Again, R&R.**


	4. Stages

**Well, I'm gonna start trying to get this story updated faster. It's only fair this way. And on another note, I've been reading a very well written story titled "Full Court Press!" for about 2 weeks straight now. It's probably one of the best fanfics in the K-On! section, written by one of my favorite writers, so if you get a chance, read it.**

**I'm also looking for someone to proof-read this story, so... yeah.**

**Anyways, here we go again for Chapter 4!**

**And my old computer died, so it took longer to get this up.**

**-Selphy**

* * *

Mio POV

Ever get that feeling, like you're going to be sick, but you know it isn't gonna happen? It's not so much sick, I should say, but more of an apprehension, an expectant feeling really. I've come a long way since the shaking ball of nerves I was in High School, no longer shunning the spotlight as though it were toxic. I quite enjoy it now, knowing that the people down on the floor have come to see me... no, _us_.

Lately, I haven't worried about going on out onto the stage in front of those crowds. No, I find it... exhilarating actually. But today, I'm nervous. Very nervous. I heard the expression "Shitting Bricks" once in a movie. I never understood what that meant, until now.

It's not the crowds out there. No, I'm excited about that. Nor is it having to put on a better show than the 2 bands that played before us. That isn't what we do; we just go out there and have as much fun as we can. It's not even out family and friends being here, although I admit that they are a harder audience to play for, mainly because they _know_ us, and can tell if we're on our game or not.

No, it's 4 of the people in attendance that has me so on edge. Mr. Kurusugawa and Mayumi, who represent the label are here. That's not too bad, I suppose. They had mentioned at the meeting they'd be coming to a performance soon, so I should have been expecting them to be here... no, it's the _other_ 2 that are... distracting.

The tall man, Wes Aihara... according to Nodoka, he's our new instrument technician. From what I've heard from some of the other bands, he'll be in charge of keeping our instruments, amplifiers and hardware in working order. It's hard to describe how it feels knowing now that someone else will be re-stringing, tuning, cleaning and maintaining Elizabeth. It's surreal. Plus, Aihara looks very... cold and distant. Perhaps it's how we met him, or that he's shy... who knows? We'll just have to find out on Monday.

Then there's Eriko Manaka, our new producer. Of everyone in the audience, she worries me the most. Besides being our producer, she is obviously a musician. The way she carried herself when they had briefly met told me that. She seemed to find rhythms in everything, from the way she walked to her interaction with her surroundings, everything tied together into one large musical event, with her being the person expressing that. I'll hold of my opinion until I talk to her on Monday as well.

"Mio."

I looked up when my name was spoken, and saw Ritsu standing in front of me, looking as nervous as I felt.

"...Yeah?"

"It's time."

* * *

"Good evening, everyone. Welcome to a very special night, as I'm sure you will remember this night for years to come." The crowd, already excited from the music that they had witnessed, roared in approval of those words."You may not know me, therefor an introduction is in order. I am Ryuuji Kurusugawa, head of Artist Relations at Ariola Records, and tonight, well, I am pleased to introduce the newest members of the Ariola family. That's right, starting tonight, this band will be achieving their dreams, and reaching _millions_ of people as they start their journey as the newest, hottest band in the Japanese music scene. So, before I talk you all to death, and bore you with words, allow me to introduce the people YOU came to see, Houkago Tea Time!"

Mr. Kurusugawa stepped back from the microphone, the crowd cheering thunderously at both his words and at the main attraction. The sound was deafening. He realized that he had made the right decision indeed. Walking off stage, he passed the band waiting in the wings of the stage.

Understandably, the girls looked nervous. This was a lot of expectation to place on them, but through the nervousness that he saw, the underlying determination that was there solidified his choice.

"Well, ladies, it's all yours." he yelled. The crowd, still incredibly loud, made normal conversation all but impossible. "Good luck!" He proceeded to shake their hands, and after he finished that, walked into the dark doorway leading back out to the floor of the club.

Having walked to her spot onstage, Yui looked around. To her left, Azusa was watching her, waiting for everything to start. Although everything was slightly overwhelming, Azusa looked calm and collected, ready for whatever happened that night. Glancing right, Yui saw Mio, with her back to the audience, looking at Ritsu, already locked into the drummer's natural rhythm. Ritsu, in turn, was a barely contained bomb, waiting for a cue to start everything off. Mugi, Yui noted with some humor, had the same stoic smile that she always did, and didn't seem fazed in the least. Not surprising; she had been performing in front of people her whole life.

Yui turned back around, and checked her station. Everything was ready. Her wireless pack was fully charged, her pedals were laid out properly, and her microphone was live.

Talking a step forward, she took a deep breath, and...

"Welcome, everyone!"

The crowd roared, their energy at a high.

"We are Houkago Tea Time!"

Another roar nearly knocked her over in sheer volume. _Thank god for earplugs!_

"And we want to thank you all so much for everything!"

The crowd, sensing that the music was imminent, threw their hands up and roared again.

"And with that, this is Heart go Boom!"

Yui looked over at Mio, who nodded, and the night really began.

* * *

"Yes! That was the best one yet!"

Ritsu, sweaty, out of breath and incredibly proud, pumped her fist in the air. The show had gone off without a hitch, and had, as Ritsu said, been the best one they had done. Now the girls sat in the dressing room backstage, shaking hands, hugging and talking to he other bands and the other backstage group about what they had just done, and what the future will hold for them.

"Ritsu! That was awesome!" Mio walked over and embraced the drummer, who was still pumping her fist in the air. To say Mio was excited would be an understatement; no, she was ecstatic, like the day she took that phone call from the label.

"Girls! Hey, you all, come here!" Nodoka called from the opposite end of the room. There she stood, with Aihara and Manaka, both of whom looked very pleased with their new colleagues.

Mio let go of her best friend and walked over to meet the 2 newcomers properly. She heard Ritsu follow behind her, and saw Yui making her way over to them as well. Once she got within a few feet, Nodoka threw herself at Mio, exclaiming "That was perfect! I especially liked the longer solos in Cagayake Girls! Everyone went nuts!" Mio just laughed. The ever diligent and reserved Nodoka was _gushing_ to her... this was indeed a night of firsts.

"I, uh, have to say... that was... incredible." Mio looked up at the tall Wes Aihara, who had just spoke to Mio. _Wow, Mio thought, he's really shy. He's nervous, and can't stop shuffling his feet._

"Thank you very much." Mio answered, offering him her hand. He looked at her, puzzled, then laughed and shook her hand vigorously.

"Yeah, I'm a bit nervous. I'm not used to being surrounded by this many women at once... I... how do I say this... my last job as a guitar tech had me working with a rock band that had, like, 1 woman on the whole tour." Mio frowned. Something about the way he spoke seemed... off somehow. "Oh," he continued, "if you're wondering, Japanese isn't my first language. English is. So, forgive me if I sound... simplicated? No... that's not right... choppy. That's it."

"Well, Aihara-san, we can help you with that." Mio smiled at the man, who summarily blushed.

"Thank you."

_Well,_ Mio thought,_ he seems like a nice guy... we'll get to see what he can do on Monday._

Mio moved on next to the woman who stood beside Aihara. Eriko Manaka stood about the height of Yui, but looked much taller due to her hairstyle, which looked like something out of a bad B-movie. _Looks like Robert Smith's hair, but longer._

"I have to say, I really enjoyed that," Eriko said, shaking Mio's hand, "I can't wait to start working with you on Monday... speaking of which, who's your songwriter?"

"We all are."

"Well... shit... who's your _main_ songwriter, then?"

"Me, I suppose. I write a lot of the lyrics, and come up with a lot of the basic structures... Yui over there, though, does most of the arrangement. Well, Yui and Mugi."

"Well, that's more helpful." Eriko responded, then continued, "Anyways, I must be off, so I'll see you Monday." The woman then proceeded to shake everyone's hand, then left.

Ritsu leaned in to Mio, clicked her teeth, and whispered "She's a different one, isn't she?" Mio had to agree. From her appearance to her mannerisms, Eriko screamed eccentric.

"Mio, we need to pack up now." Nodoka walked over to Mio and handed her a paper with what appeared to be an address on it. "This is your new rehearsal space. You'll be taking all your equipment there. Well, everything you have with you now. We'll stop by the old place on Monday morning to get everything else. By the way, Mr. Aihara will be there early Monday morning, to look over the equipment while you all meet with Ms. Manaka. He'll be working with you guys on Tuesday."

_Well,_ Mio thought, _next week will be... interesting._

* * *

**That's it for now... hopefully this will hold you all over until the next chapter, which is way better than this one.**


	5. Flying Circus

**Well, here we are again... another week, another chapter. Well, couple of weeks anyways.**

**Again, the usual thanks to those who read and leave reviews... well, thanks to everyone who reads.**

**This chapter will be less technical and more... human, to put it simple.**

**Anyways, enough of me, more of the story**

**~Selphy**

* * *

_Mio POV_

I hate waking up in the morning. Usually I still feel tired, my hair is a mess, I feel dirty and, most importantly, my bed is too damn comfortable and warm to want to leave. Plus, having to deal with operating a shower, brushing my teeth and making something resembling a good breakfast also make it harder to get motivated.

I especially hated waking up this morning, because I knew that after showering, brushing and eating, I'd be having to go and move everything out of our old practice spot and move it into a proper practice studio.

Not that I'll completely miss the old place, but there were a lot of memories made in that small space. Small, slightly stinky place. OK, VERY stinky. It used to be a walk-in cooler, for crying out loud. Now we get a nice, clean, _comfortable_ rehearsal studio. Mind you, it costs about 5000 yen extra a month, but it's in a great location, has good security, and most of all, was designed to be practised in... uh-oh.

Looking at her alarm clock, Mio shot out of her bed, took 3 steps forwards, and promptly slipped on a book on her floor, sending her flying head-first into the hallway of her apartment.

"Aw shit," she groaned, "not only did I sleep in an hour longer than I should have, but now this?" The sound of loud laughing didn't make her feel any better. Looking towards the living room, Mio felt her face getting hot. Standing there were Ritsu and Mugi, the former laughing raucously at her, and the latter just smiling as always. _Well, _Mio thought ruefully, _at least I'm awake now._

"Jeez Mio," walking towards the fallen bassist, Ritsu was still chuckling, "nice of you to join us. You should hurry up and shower." Ritsu knelt down beside her roommate, looked her in the eye, and continued. "Or, my princess," Ritsu ran her index finger down Mio's chin, lifting her face and moved her head in closer, "would you prefer if I bathed you myself?" Mio froze. Her mouth opened and closed wordlessly, and she stared at her friend in confused horror. Ritsu drew Mio's face closer towards her, opened her mouth slightly...

And blew a large puff of air into Mio's face.

"Ahahahaha!" Ritsu roared, laughing, "Mugi was right! You have one of the funniest reactions I have ever seen!" Ritsu stood up, looked down the hall at a still smiling, but slightly red-faced Mugi, and shot her a thumbs up. "Mugi, I think our work here is done. Let's wait for Mio in the living room." Ritsu then proceeded to laugh all the way to the aforementioned room.

Mio sat where she was for a few seconds, feeling incredibly embarrassed... and slightly aroused. _What the hell? Since when was Ritsu so... cute? Her eyes are absolutely... wait, wait, wait. What am I thinking about? That's just wrong... isn't it? I'm sure Ritsu... wait, wait, wait! I have to get ready, we gotta be out of the old rehearsal spot at noon, and it's already 8:30! Yui, Azusa and Nodoka are already there getting every thing out! _

Mio stood up and made her way to the bath. _Gotta make this quick, no time to waste._ Mio hurriedly stripped out of her pyjamas and climbed into the shower. As the hot water ran across her back, Mio started thinking again.

_I'm sure Ritsu was just joking around like she always does._ Mio turned into the stream of the shower, letting the water hit her face and chest._ But, what's different about it this time? Am I becoming attracted to Ritsu? Sure, I've known her a long time, but we're just friends, right?_ Reaching for the soap, Mio started washing herself off. _But, when did she become so good looking? She's quite beautiful, I've never noticed that before. Not like this, anyways. And she has a very slim, toned body... nice perky breasts... firm butt... oh god, why am I so turned on?_

Mio, red faced and panting, started rubbing her stomach, then moved her hand further down to her womanhood. _I can't do this; not about Ritsu... but I can't help it! Thinking about Ritsu feels too good. _Panting, Mio picked up speed. Feeling her legs getting weak, she put her other hand out in front of her, and braced it against the shower wall. She leaned forwards, and closed her eyes.

_This makes me a pervert, doesn't it?_ Mio thought as she continued to aid herself. _But it feels so good. I feel so good. I'm sorry, Ritsu, but I can't help it at all._ Mio felt her knees start to buckle from the pleasure, and before long, she came. Falling to her knees on the floor of the shower, Mio fought to bring her breathing, and spasms, into check.

"I'm sorry, Ritsu." Mio spoke to the shower. For some reason known only to her sub-conscious, the words felt better being spoke out loud.

"What are you sorry about, Mio? Taking to damn long in the shower?" Ritsu called form the hallway. Mio froze, swallowed a couple of times, then called back "Ritsu? What's wrong?"

"I just came to see how much longer you'd be, Nodoka called and asked, so hurry up." Ritsu answered. Mio heard her friend turn, then start back towards the living room. "God, Mio, you always take so damn long in the shower... don't get it." she said as she walked away from the bathroom.

_Oh my god,_ Mio thought,drying her self off a few seconds later. _That was close. Well, might as well get dressed, this day can't get any worse._

**That's it for this chapter, so... Yeah. Short. Really short.**

**First 'sex' scene... I guess.**

**~Selphy**


	6. Deus Ex Tainaka

**Wow. It's been MONTHS. I guess touring will tear you away from your pass-times. Funny, though, how music used to be a pass-time for me, too, until it became something of a career. **

**Ah well, back to the story.**

**Hopefully you still have the patience to follow this.**

**~Selphy.**

* * *

Nor had Mio's trials ended there.

After getting ready, Mio, along with Ritsu and Mugi, had left to catch the train to the new rehearsal space. They had, luckily, gotten to the station just in time, and found an empty section near the back of the train. Unfortunately for Mio, she had sat in a seat that had gum on the edge, and summarily had gotten it stuck to her pants.

This, combined with her... activities that morning, had given her a headache. As if to add insult to injury, Mio had also slipped on the last few steps leading out of the station by the new rehearsal space, making her fall flat on her bottom, and bruising one of her elbows. In front of the rest of the band, who had gone to the station to guide the 3 late comers their destination. At this point, Mio felt like giving up and going back to her apartment to hide from the world.

_Please, just let me get through today, Mio thought as she entered the rehearsal studio, it's just not my day._

* * *

"_... sorry about that, but I got tied up with my husband not feeling well, and... yeah."_

Nodoka just sighed. The band had been sitting in the lounge of their rehearsal space waiting for Eriko to arrive for just short of an hour, and just as they were about to leave, Nodoka's phone had rung. Noticing that it was Eriko calling, Nodoka had told the band that it was Eriko calling, and presumably was going to say she was on her way, not expecting her to be unable to get there at all.

"It's alright," Nodoka answered, "hopefully some day this week."

"_... Um, yeah. How does Thursday sound?"_

"Let me check..." Nodoka covered the receiver on her cellphone and asked out "Is Thursday good for you lot?" Seeing everyone nodding, she told Eriko that was acceptable, and wishing her luck, ended the call.

"So," Nodoka started, "what now? With no producer, we can't exactly continue on with pre-production, can we?"

"Actually, if that's the case, perhaps I could get started on my work."

The band, and Nodoka, turned to see Wes Aihara walk into the lounge. Dressed in simple jeans, sweatshirt and sneakers, he looked more like a teenager than a professional instrument technician.

Wes had spent the better part of the morning looking over Yui's prized possession, Gitaa, giving the young guitarist some very insightful tips as to how better maintain her instrument. He had also taken a very good look at her amp and her pedals, in order to make sure that they were in good working order. It took him no longer than 5 minutes to point out to Yui that her amp wasn't properly biased, and another 15 to explain what that meant. It also took Azusa another few minutes to pry Yui away from said amp, mainly because Wes looked terribly confused. And understandably so, as it wasn't every day that you saw a young, cute guitarist cry as she begged her amp to 'not leave her at such a young age'. Nodoka had smiled at this, thinking _at least Yui hasn't completely changed in the last few years._

"Sure, Mr. Aihara. Where do you want to start?"

"We'll start with everyone calling me Wes, not Mr. Aihara. My father is Mr. Aihara."

"... OK. Where do you want to start, Wes?"

"Drums. They'll take the longest."

Ritsu looked up at the imposingly tall man, and cheered, "YES! I'm first, because I'm obviously the best!" earning her a thump from Mio.

"Honestly, behave yourself."

* * *

"So, a Hipgig. Great"

It took about 20 seconds for Ritsu to realize that in fact, Wes didn't like Hipgigs.

"And? What does that mean?"

"You'll need a new drum set. This won't cut it in the studio, or on stage. Not enough volume or presence, the tuning range is really small, the large amount of hardware on the bass shell kills the low-end and resonance. The snares always sound nice, though."

"Oh." That's all Ritsu could say. She had expected Wes to be some kind of guitar-centric guy, but his knowledge of her drums, which are fairly rare, was astonishing. "Well, what about my cymbals? They're good, right?" She had found herself trying to prove to this stranger that she had at least gotten ONE good thing.

"Zildjians. A customs. But a set of K hats. Very nice. Nice bright crashes, big fat hats, lots of chunk. What's your ride? Wait, I see it. A Sweet Ride. Another nice choice. Fairly responsive. Don't use it much, do you?"

_Wow,_ Ritsu thought,_ he instantly knew why and how I picked the cymbals I did. Even knows I don't use my ride much._ "OK, so what do you suggest for drums? I have about 300 000 yen saved up I could use for new drums, and besides, I was thinking of getting some new ones anyways."

"Hmm." Wes put his hand up to his mouth to think. "Mind if I play your set for a few seconds? It'll give me an idea as to what sound you may want."

"Sure. Don't break anything."

Wes just raised an eyebrow at her, and sat down.

"Holy shit you're short."

"No. You're just too tall" _Really? _She thought. _I'm short. You prick, you're gonna get it._

No sooner than she finished her thought than Wes had started playing her drums. It was nothing short of magical. His speed was incredible, but without the raggedness her fastest playing sometimes had. Precision seemed to be something he had practised as a drummer. As well, but the physical presence he had behind the set made her feel like an amateur. Were as she played with confidence, he plays with authority, which made her realize that the drums didn't even sound the same as when she played them.

But the thing she noticed the most was the look on Wes' face. Gone was the slightly shy, awkward expression he had worn even as late as 5 minutes ago. Nope, what now sat on his face was the look of dominance, the face of someone who didn't play the drums, but someone who _commanded_ the drums.

"Miss Tainaka?"

Ritsu started. "Yes?"

"I said I think we need to go to my drum guy, to get your new drums. He's the only one with a room big enough to try multiple sets at once."

"S..Sure."

"OK, so I'll go call..."

"Hang on, there. I wanna ask you something"

"OK, um... what?"

"Um... How..." now Ritsu felt like an idiot. _How long have you played drums? Where did you learn? Can you teach me? _"Why did they sound so different when you played them?" _Real smooth._

"Hmm. I noticed when I saw you live you didn't hit very hard. You had pretty good sound, but I knew that the drums would open up a bit if you laid into them. Oh, sorry. Drums have a sweet spot for tone. Meaning, if you hit them with just the right amount of force, they're sound real special. That's what I just did, I played them at the sweet spot. You'll learn how to do so in time. It's something that you learn to do as you get more experience recording and playing on big stages. Anyways, I have to go make a call, get a coffee, have a smoke... I'll let you know when he's free."

With a small wave, Wes walked out of the room, and left.

When Ritsu walked into the lounge, she was confronted with Mio's and Nodoka's questioning faces.

"Nice playing, Ritsu," Mio said, smiling, "been doing some secret practice?"

"Thanks, I guess. But that wasn't me. That was Wes."

"WHAT?" Mio was floored. According to Yui, Wes had asked to see her guitar earlier that day, and had played some parts on it that completely blew Yui and Azusa away.

"Well," Nodoka commented from behind a book music law, "according to Eriko, he's an accomplished session musician, and has a Masters degree in music. So it's not THAT surprising."

Mio sat and stared at the small coffee table in front of her. For not the last time, she thought to herself _Have we gotten in over our heads?_


	7. Authors ramblings, or SORRY I'M LATE

Well, it has been a while. Life is a thing.

I'm gonna answer some questions and comments as it's something I've wanted to do for a while.

Elias Pedro: thanks for the review! I hope you'll stay interested.

About your comment on technicalities… it's a designed that way. As a new band, they know just about as much as the reader in regards to recording/touring/being professional musicians. So, it looks like a lot of big words and smoke, you'll learn what it means as the band learns what it means.

If I could have read a fanfic like this before I did my first CD, I wouldn't have been such a blundering dork for the first two years of my music career. Believe me when I say, all will be explained in due time.

Yagga: Thanks! Yes, there will be yuri. There will be lots of yuri. More yuri than you can shake a… not stick… bokuto at.

Jcebreakr: 2 reviews? Nice! Trust me, I read Time Out as well. It was a great read.

Kina Omoi: Thanks for the review! Hope you'll come back!

Major Mike Powell III: Thanks for reading! I am quite fond of the shower scene myself. Trust me, the band will be a bit… circular.

07

Semper-Fi!

Now to some meat and potatoes:

Some of this story is based on experiences I've had, some is made up. I'll leave it for you to decide what is what.

Technical terms. I use them a lot. You'll learn what it means as the band does. So, picture yourself as the band.

THERE WILL BE YURI, STRAIGHT AND SOLO. PERHAPS A THREESOME. I DON'T KNOW YET!

Yes, I am an audio engineer and musician; I do know what I'm talking about. You guys will learn about the music industry as it's viewed from my side: Inside.

?

Profit!

Hopefully I'll be able to update more of this as I've taken a slight change in work for music (Mastering Engineer, look it up on google or Wikipedia), so I'm home way more now.

Ta-ta for now. Chapter is imminent.


	8. Strings, Flings, and a manner of Things

**This update is long the works. Life is a thing I guess**

**~Selphy.**

Even with the absence of Eriko, the day wasn't a complete loss for the group. Wes had returned ten minutes after he left, and instead of just sitting around doing nothing, he suggested it would be a good idea for the band to start rehearsing for the record they were starting. When asked why bother without Eriko, he replied that he's also the engineer for the recording, and that it would help him out to figure out tones. It would also help them out as he could give them advice to prepare them for the actual recording sessions.

And so they played. But it was not exactly enjoyable for everyone. Ritsu, after hearing how different the drums sounded when Wes played them, attempted to emulate his power. The attempt was predictably bad, as she had neither the wrist strength nor the endurance to play as hard, or as fast, as he could. It only took one run through Cagayake Girls for her to realize that it would take time to develop that style.

Additionally, between every song, Wes would discuss the song and things that could be improved on in both musicianship and arrangement. Things like feel, tempo, and balancing were mentioned, the overlying comment consistent with every song was cohesiveness. Wes felt the band could play better. Not as individuals, but as a group.

After the fourth song, Wes decided to try something different.

"Ok. Well, let's try this," he said, eyes closed, "Tainaka-san, just play a simple 4/4 beat." Ritsu just smirked and played a beat. While she was playing, Wes walked over to Mio and told her "Play something simple, but only play on the bass drum. Keep it in say, A". Mio immediately started playing with Ritsu's beat. She looked at Wes, expecting him to be relatively content with her ability to do so, and found him instead frowning, causing her to start questioning what she was playing.

"No no," he shouted over the rhythm, "Don't move." Mio had about three seconds to think about that before he gently cupped her jaw and started rotating her head. Her eyes darted to Azusa, who stared on in horror. Mio felt herself start turning her body with her head, hoping that someone would step in and stop him from killing her. _Is this how I die? Killed because of my music?_

Just as suddenly as Wes had grabbed her, he let go. She looked straight ahead, and found herself staring at Ritsu, who was staring back at her in fear. Wes shouted out "The rhythm section needs to communicate. Not by words, but by looks. Lock into each other; you guys are the foundation of the band. If you aren't tight, the band isn't tight. Look at each other and feel the beat."

Mio, still startled from being touched without warning, did just that. Suddenly, she found herself slipping into the music. The drums became less percussive and more melodic. As her and Ritsu looked at each other, Mio found she was struggling to find the bass drum and attempted to compensate.

Wes waved his arms, and both girls stopped playing. Mio turned to Wes to demand an explanation, found that the tall man was smiling. She looked quickly at the other three in the band, and found that they too were smiling.

"And WHAT is so funny?" Mio demanded. She couldn't for the life of her figure out what everyone was laughing at. Was her being scared still that funny?

"Nothing. I noticed you struggling at the end." Wes stated "And that's not even it. You probably don't understand what happened do you?"

"No."

"Well, you two locked in. Notice the bass drum disappears?"

"Y… Yes"

"That's a sign that you've found the musical pocket. That's the groove, the rhythm. If you're on as a rhythm section, you don't notice the individual sounds. You only notice music. You found it. That's why those three are smiling." He point at the other three girls, "They noticed and sometimes you can only smile when you hear it. If you had paid attention to Tainaka-san's face, or even your own, you two were also smiling."

Mio looked down at her feet, embarrassed. Not because she was being looked at, but because she couldn't believe that she had missed the point at what Wes had done.

"And I'm sorry for grabbing you like I did. I wanted to mention it, but thought this would work better."

Mio turned and glowered at him "Really. Now, to make up for it, I want some tea." She felt some small satisfaction at the man's face going from smiling, to terrified, to relieved, and then to defeat.

"Fair enough."

* * *

By the time they left for the evening, Wes had proclaimed that the band was sounding much tighter than they had that morning. After the 'lessons' with Mio and Ritsu, Wes started focusing in on the other band members, pointing out ways to improve their playing.

The girls in ASTT decided to go to the local Denny's to eat and invited Wes to join them, which he accepted. On the walk they started asking Wes about himself so they could better understand the so far mysterious man.

"Were you born in Japan?" Yui started with, earning her a look of caution from Azusa.

"No, I'm from Canada." as the answer. "Really?" Mio asked, "Have you ever seen Anne of Green Gables?"

Wes just laughed. "Yea. I was born about 5 hours from it. It's almost mandatory for someone from that area to see it. There really isn't much else around there".

"What's Canada like?" Mio continued. She was a big fan of Rush, and knew they were Canadian.

"Big. It gets really hot in the summer and really cold in the winter. But it's a nice place. I visit there every year, so I don't miss it or anything."

"Is that where you learned to play drums?" Ritsu blurted out, earning her a thump form Mio.

"Yeah, I played in bands all through high school and college. Earned some extra money for myself. I also got my start at playing in studios in high school. Then, when I hit college, I found I could also play guitar and bass, so it made being a musician really fun. I could play in three different bands at once. It really helped me understand recording better too, so I went into the music program in college."

"So, how did you end up in Japan?" Mugi asked. Wes had already figured out that Mugi was the quiet one in the band, the person who sits back, takes it all in, and gives the final opinion.

"Work. Being half-Japanese, I could get jobs working for studios and bands not many of my peers could. I started out as a stage hand for a few bands, and then got friendly with a guitarist I was working with. He asked me to be his technician; I accepted. At the same time, someone was looking for a drummer for a session and the band I was working for suggested me. And here I am.

"You're the engineer for the recording. What does that mean?" Asked Nodoka.

"I turn the knobs and move sliders until you guys sound awesome. I also keep track of all the technical stuff in the studio." Nodoka just stared at him.

By this time the band had gotten into Denny's and sat down. After the waiter took their order (and apologized for the rude waitress they had before him; she told them all to step in cat crap), Wes decided to explain something to the band.

"So I want to talk with you all about something. Recording is a great time, but forget everything you've seen on TV about it. It's not the big glamorous party it's made out to be. For you guys, you get to play music and have a bit of fun. But, there'll be days you don't want to even THINK about music. There could be a day where you have to play the same part of a song for hours. There will be days where no recording gets done at all. You might have to rerecord an entire song. It's just the way it is. You'll learn what you can and can't do pretty fast. People like Eriko and myself, we work long hours; I could be in the studio for twelve hours straight listening to one specific drum fill the entire time trying to figure out what's wrong with it, or playing back a bass part trying to find the exact settings to make it sound perfect. I'm not trying to scare you; I'm just giving you a heads up."

The girls looked at him like he was joking. No one believed that; it sounded like some kind exaggeration. Yui even voiced that opinion. "Have you ever had to record the same guitar part over and over and over?"

Wes sat back in his chair. "Yup, I did. I once did a session where I had to record the same bridge about 20 time just to get the feel right. Eriko was the producer, actually. It may sound harsh, but it's just the way it is. Now, I hated doing it but listening to the song now, it's incredible. At the time I wanted to chuck the guitar across the room." Yui sat back down stating "I would never throw Gui-ta. It's mean"

"Don't worry about it; it probably won't happen anyways. And here's the food"

* * *

On the train back home, Mio was deep in thought. Between the day's lessons, the talk with Wes at dinner and the knowledge that tomorrow was going to be the same, she was worried. _Are we in over our heads?_ She thought. _Is this going to be a disaster?_ Mio looked over at Ritsu and noticed she was staring out the window. Mio leaned over and asked "So, what do you think so far?"

"I don't know, really." Ritsu answered, "It's a lot to take in at once. But, I'm sure we'll be ok."

Mio sat back in her seat, think of what Ritsu said.

_I sure hope we'll be ok._


End file.
